Method and apparatus for placing concrete in piles



July 5, 1932. M. M. UPSON METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PLACING GbNCRETE IN FILES awumtoz $51 3 in Summo- M Filed Sept. 20, 1929 Patented July 5, 1932' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE MAXWELL M. UPSON, OF ENGLEWOOD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR TO RAYMOND CONCRETE PILE COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY METHODAND APPARATUS FOR PLACING CONCRETE IN PILES Application filed September 20, 1929. Serial No. 393,908.

This invention pertains to the forming of concrete piles in situ, with special reference to the method and apparatus for placing the concrete in position.

Objections have been raised to shell-less piles because the plastic material is inclined to arch or separate, and thus form defective spots in the pile.

The principal object of the present invention is to overcome the above objection b the use of a vibrator extending down throug the concrete and operable while the shell is be- .ing removed, whereby arching of the newly poured material is prevented and a solid homogeneous pile structure assured.

Further and other objects and advantages will ap ar from the specification and claims, and rom the drawing which shows by way of illustration the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Fig. 1 is a cross-section of a pile shell and boot after driving.

Fig. 2 is the same as Fig. 1 but with a vibrator in operative position.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 while the concrete is being poured, the vibrator being operated, and the shell being withdrawn.

Fig. 4 is a View of the completed pile.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, in which the vibrator rod is of special form and has been left in the pile as a reinforcement.

Fig. 6 shows a vibrator attached to the pile shell.

In the drawing, 10 is a pile shell and 12 the driving shoe. The shell is usually of steel pipe or tubing and is intended for removal while the concrete is being poured, leaving the shoe in the ground as part of the permanent structure.

In Fig. 2 the vibrating apparatus has been placed in position within tube 10, preparatory to the pouring of the concrete and the removal of the shell. The vibrator comprises a rod 14 which may be of metal or wood or other material. Ordinary wood 2 x 4s or 4 x 4s have been found very satisfactory for the purpose. The upper end of rod 14 is detachably secured to a vibrating device 16.

Thisdevice is usually a motor running at highspeed and having an unbalanced rotor, but other kinds of apparatus may be used, for instance devices of the air hammer or air drill ty e. The entire vibrator is suspended on a ca le 18, by means of which it may be raised or lowered.

In Fig. 3, concrete 19 is being poured into the shell through spout 20, to form the pile 22 in the cavity left by shell 10 as it is withdrawn. The shell is raised gradually by means of clamp 24 and hoisting tackle 26 applied to the upper end of the tube. The vibrator is kept in operation continually while the concrete is being supplied, thereby preventing arching or separating of the newly poured material. The vibrator may be withdrawn simultaneously with the shell or may be left in position as in Fig. 2 during the entire filling operation. In that case rod 14, if of metal, may never be with drawn but may, after removal of vibratorlfi therefrom, be left to serve as a reinforcement in the finished pile.

Fig. 4 shows the usual type of finished pile as made by the present process, without reinforcing, While Fig. 5 shows a similar pile in which a vibrator rod 30 has been left in the pile as a reinforcement. This illustration shows a rod having lateral projections or wings 32. Rods of irregular conformation, of which 30 is only one illustration, have been found advantageous under certain conditions.

In Fig. 6 is shown a modification of the invention in which a vibrator 34 is applied to shell 10 and the use of vibrator rods such as 14 and 30 is dispensed with.

In the event that the vibrating rod is to be left in the concrete to form a reinforcement therefor, the rod may be made of unusual length so that when the shell is raised it does not encompass the motor and may be readily disconnected therefrom or the rod might readily be made in sections, one of which terminated at the upper end of the shell so that after the shell was completely filled with concrete it could be readily disconnected from the upper portion and the motor. I, however, lay no claim whatever to a sectional rod or a materially elongated rod,

because the casing may be pulled completely over the rod and motor and the rod then disconnected from the motor and left in the concrete.

It'is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific embodiment herein illustrated and described but may be used in other ways without departure from its spirit as defined by the following claims.

I claim- 1. The method of forming a concrete pile which comprises placing a tubular shell in the ground, gradually withdrawing said shell, pouring concrete into the shell to fill the cavity below said shell as the shell is withdrawn, continuously vibrating a rod directly within the concrete as the same is fed to the shell and cavity and Withdrawing said rod simultaneously with the shell.

2. Apparatus for forming a concrete pile within a cavity in the ground comprising a tubular shell within said cavity, means for withdrawing said shell, means for filling the cavity below the shell with plastic concrete to form a pile as the shell is with drawn, a rod supported within said shell and cavity, means for vibrating said rod in the concrete while the cavity is being filled with said concrete and means for gradually withdrawing the rod as the level of the concrete rises in the cavity.

3. Apparatus for forming a concrete pile Within a cavity in the ground comprising a tubular shell fitted within the cavity, means for gradually withdrawing said shell from the cavity, means for filling the cavity with plastic concrete to form a pile, a rod supported in the cavity in contact with the concrete, means for continuously vibrating said rod while the cavity is being filled with the concrete, and means for simultaneously withdrawing said rod and shell from the cavity as the level of the concrete rises therein.

4. The method of forming a concrete pile which comprises placing a tubular shell in the ground, gradually withdrawing said shell, pouring concrete into the shell to fill the cavity below the shell with concrete as rapidly as the shell is withdrawn and vibrating a rod embedded directly in the concrete to prevent arching of said concrete in the cavity and to secure a solid homogeneous pile structure and leaving the rod in the concrete to reinforce the finished pile.

In testimony whereof I hereto afiix my signature.

MAXWELL M. UPSON. 

